Life is battle. There is an enemy, some soldiers, and a commander in chief. The enemy is the devil and his legions who fight to destroy all that God our captain values. The soldiers are the Christians, who fight to trust God and be Holy before him. The good soldiers follow and trust the captain to give them what they need, to set the rules of combat, and to encourage and sustain them through to the promised victory. Sometimes, while fighting for holiness and obedience to God, the enemy gets a foothold, and we find ourselves regularly defeated in certain areas of the skirmish. These sins continue to defeat us and they become habits-- bad habits. Habits are hard to break. How can we fight the good fight? How can we defeat the enemy, not just in the end, but now, day to day, in the battle? How can we overcome bad habits? Consider and combine the following 12 helpful strategies.
1) Remember who wins
Begin a war you expect to win. Every true Christian is an ultimate overcomer. At the end of life, when God calls everyone to account for their life, the Christian claims the forgiveness offered by Christ who paid the price for our sin. We win the war against sin, God claims his own who have received him, and Satan is defeated forever and no longer will have any influence. Hebrews 10:14 says that God has perfected forever those who are sanctified. The battle is over forever. Praise God the battle term of life is short compared to the eternal length of celebrated victory. I am much strengthened in difficult situations when I know the outcome, and the outcome of the Christian is certain victory. Remember who wins.
2) Clean the slate
Repent of past failures. There is one kind of forgiveness offered by God through Christ and that is forgiveness of sin, by God, through Christ. Forgiveness is cleansing. Forgiveness is healing. Forgiveness is comforting. The forgiveness that God offers restores health to the soul and joy to the heart. That is why 1 John 1:9 says that when we confess, he “cleanses us from all impurities.” We fail in the battle, and we feel the sting. God, who is the final judge of our lives, forgives the repentant sinner of mistakes made in battle. He offers us cleanness instead. Sometimes, the guilt that follows sinful behavior actually pushes someone toward more sinful behavior or habits or addictions. Confession removes the guilt, cleans the slate. Confess your sin to God, keep the slate clean.
3) Stay connected to the captain
No soldier lasts long in the battle if there is not some ongoing communication from the general or captain or commander. A soldier would not know what to do, where to go, who is with him, and how the battle is going. Another has said well that prayer is not a peacetime walkie-talkie, but a vital life saving connection to the one who is in the process of securing victory for each true soldier. Talk often with the Lord. Seek him with your friends in battle. Listen for his voice in the quite moments. Know that if the communication with God fails, we will fail. The conclusion of the section in Ephesians telling Christian soldiers to put on the full armor of God says to “..pray at all times and stay alert…(Eph 6:18). Be sure to get your armor, don’t miss that, but get your instructions personally be staying connected to the captain.
4) Fight on the front line
Remove the pictures and memories from your mind. The real battle over habitual sin happens in the mind. The mind considers options. The intellect weighs out the options. The heart makes a choice, and the body acts on it. James 1:14 says we are tempted by
evil desires, then dragged away.” Desire is the battle field of the mind. We all have wrong desires. We are born with them. Most sins are contemplated and considered and desired in the mind before they are committed. That is why 2 Corinthians 10:5 says we have to “demolish” the arguments the mind uses to defend sin, and “take every thought captive.” We can change our thoughts. We can think about and direct out thoughts to something else. We can dismantle the false arguments the mind sets up to justify sin. Remember, “all a man's ways seem right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the motives. (Prov 16:2) Don’t always trust your thoughts, but always trust the truth. Take control of your thoughts and fight the battle on the front line.
5) Hold the right weapon
The scripture is the Holy Spirit’s most aggressive weapon in the battle against sin. Hebrew 4:12 says “The word is powerful (KJV) effective (HCSB) active (NIV). Scripture is profitable for training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). The Bible uses the metaphor of being washed by the water of the word (Eph 5). So, what truths are contained in God’s armory?
Sin happens Rom 3:23
Sin is very dangerous Rom 6:23
Sin can be forgiven 1 John 1:9
We must fight against sin 1 Timothy 6:10
We fight the same sins as others 1 Cor 10:13
We can say no to sin Rom 6:6
We get help from the Holy Spirit Rom 8:26-27
We can walk in the Spirit Gal 5:16 ff
We can deliberately place our affections Col 3:1-2
God prepares good works for us Eph 2:10
God is the place to find true pleasure Psalm 16:11
God is seen by those who are pure Matt 5:8
God can deliver from temptation if we ask Matt 6:13
Nothing separates us from the love of God Romans 8:39
We must know the truth of scripture to combat the lies of the enemy in our lives as we fight the battle for holiness. To win the battle for holiness, know the scripture to be your weapon, and hold the right weapon.
6) Remove obstacles to progress
Get rid of present physical causes of defeat. In battle, many obstacles make the victory more difficult. In the Christian life, the same is true. Some situations provide heightened temptation. This could be person, a group of persons, a lack of persons, a relationship, a store, a restaurant, a car, a magazine subscription, a collection, a hobby, a website, or a combination of these. If any person or object causes your downfall, remove or avoid the obstacle as possible. That is why Jesus said if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off (Matt 5:30). In other words, it is better to lose a good thing than to have it cause you to sin. To win the battle over sin, remove obstacles to progress.
7) Limit the availability of distractions
There are physical deterrents to victory in battle as described in point number 6. There are also distractions that come more in the thoughts than in the physical. If I have the goal of holiness, I must plan and think of a pathway that accomplishes that goal. Church attendance is good. Fishing is good. If my fishing consistently keeps me out of church, then my fishing is distracting me from my higher goal. Sometimes, we have competing goals, and one is a distraction to the other. Always choose to follow the goal that best honors God, even if the distraction is not a bad thing. This is why Rom 16:19 tells us to be wise about what is good. And that wisdom will teach us to limit the availability of distractions
8) Fight with a friend
Life can be a lonely place and even when you are with others. Loneliness is not overcome by being with other people, but in knowing others and being known. Get the accountability of a friend to fight well on the front lines. The problem with secret sin is that it is secret sin. Find someone you can share with in the progress of sanctification, and battle together. Ask them to help you do better. Ask them to tell you what you cannot see in yourself. A very wise person said that the wounds of a friend can be trusted (Prov 27:6) Make sure you have someone like that in your life, make sure you fight with a friend.
9) Prepare for a long battle
Sometimes I wish we came to know the Lord, and then he just took us to heaven, but he doesn’t. The battle is long and hard. The way is narrow, and few find it. Know this up front. There is no magic age where sin and temptation go away. They never go away, they just change their approach. Don’t lose heart. Progress in the area of lust may lead to a downfall in the area of pride. Progress in the area of distraction may lead to unloving attitudes. You get the idea. There are no quick fixes in the battle for holiness. The final battle for the soul is over, praise God! But the skirmishes last a life time. “So, we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up. (Gal 6:9-10) Friends, get your gear on, look to the captain, and let’s prepare for a long battle.
10) Know the heart of the Captain
It is critical to remember that God hates sin. Imagine if you will, you are out in a harsh battle. People are giving their lives for the cause and maimed and bloodied friends are the model of courage and faithfulness. Why all the dedication? Because, the enemy is very bad, and the captain is very serious. Jesus fought “the good fight.” Sin was so terrible and serious to God that Jesus gave his life to spare our lives. The same God who traded the life of his son for your forgiveness, does not now suddenly wink at sin. God hates sin. God punishes sin, and he has not changed his mind. To come to God for salvation is to begin a quest to know and love God. To love God, will be to share his heart—which is love for people, and hatred for sin. That is why the Bible says that one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord (Prov 16:6). We must never relax and think sin is not big deal. Sin was and is a very big deal for God. You will be helped to overcome in the battle as you know the heart of the Captain.
11) Bounce well
In the battle for lust, author Steve Arterburn coined the phrase “bouncing the eyes.” Every soldier in the battle against bad habits may be helped by learning to bounce. Not just the eyes, but the thoughts, and even the body. The same way a person prone to lustful looks makes a covenant with his eyes to bounce away from images wrong to gaze on, another could bounce away from a line of thought, or a piece of pie, or binge and purging, or a website prone to waste time. We are able to “bounce” from anything. A habitual over spender can bounce away from stores or the shopping channel. When the impulse hits, bounce!! Turn your impulse to feed a bad habit into an impulse to break it, an impulse to form a good habit.
12) Find a greater pleasure
We do what we do because we think it will make us happy. Pascal said “every man constantly chooses what he perceives to be in the interest of his own happiness; even the man who hangs himself.” We sin because we think it will bring us pleasure, and for a moment it may. But, the result of sin is not pleasure. Sin brings sadness, guilt, shame, and defeat. So the issue is not whether I am able to choose pleasure or not, but I do I tell my self the truth about pleasure? The truth is, life is found in God, his presence is joy, and in his hand are pleasures forever, not just a moment (Psalm 16:11). When I take more pleasure in obeying God and saying no to a bad habit, I am well on my way to victory over a bad habit. Pleasure is a slippery goal. Do I seek pleasure for the moment followed by guilt? Or, do I choose pleasure for later followed by …. pleasure? To overcome bad habits, tell your self the truth and find a greater pleasure.
So, now what? Maybe you don’t have any bad habits. If so, you need to find a friend to tell you the truth—right away! Seriously! So, maybe take a day to reflect on each one of these points. Maybe find an area to work on that will help the most. Maybe look for the lie you are believing and embrace the truth of scripture. Maybe find someone to battle with. Maybe, just go before the Lord and say, I want to fight the good fight, Lord, tell me what to do next and I will do it. And then, do exactly what he says. Now, there’s a good habit to get into!
PK
